In the Middle
by jugglequeen
Summary: Billy doesn't feel well. Tony and Angela bond while taking care of the little boy.


_**Author's note: **_I was inspired by stayathomemum's chapter "Snoop and ye shall find" of her story "Those Awkward Moments". If you haven't read it so far - the entire story I mean - I can only highly recommend it. There's one sentence early in the chapter - _He (Billy) wanted them both, together, with him in the middle._ - which touched my heart the second I read it. So I invented an A/U plot around it. It takes place shortly after "A Road to Washington", where Tony and Angela started to play show and tell.

_**Disclaimer:** _I don't owe any intellectual property rights of the WTB? characters and don't mean to violate them.

* * *

Tony's inner clock woke him up every morning; he set his alarm every night, but never needed it in the morning. Never, in more than six years, had he slept in. Not even on one of his days off. He was always the first one in the house to get up. Usually he jumped right out of his bed to start his daily chores. He wanted to have everything prepared down in the kitchen before the first family member - usually Angela in her bathrobe - showed up, followed by a grumpy, sleep-deprived teenager. But this morning he had a weird sensation upon awakening, with his eyes still being closed, and his mind not asleep anymore but not yet completely awake. He quickly checked the environment: unfamiliar bed with too many pillows and a thick duvet; unfamiliar brightness in the room; unfamiliar warm temperature; unfamiliar scent, ... no wait, familiar scent!

It couldn't possibly be her, could it?

Tony slowly opened one eye, but he couldn't see anything with his head deeply drowned in the fluffy, thick pillow. He opened the other eye and lifted his head a little. Then he saw her. Angela, sleeping peacefully at the other end of the bed. Her bed. Tony intuitively checked his body and was relieved to find it dressed in a decent pair of pyjamas. A look at her showed him that she also wore her nightgown. So, he hadn't slept with her. Another night of sharing a bed without anything happening. Seriously? But why had he spent the night in her bed anyway?

Tony was still gathering his thoughts, trying to assemble the puzzle, when he felt an unexpected kick in his shin. The pain finally woke him up completely and filled in the blanks of his memory.

Billy!

The five-year-old hadn't been feeling well at dinner, hadn't eaten any of his pasta, and had gone to bed without the usual game of 'only-five-more-minutes'. Tony and Angela had exchanged a worried look at the dinner table, so Tony had checked on his foster son before he himself had withdrawn into his bedroom. His day had been tiring, with a tough exam in the morning, extensive grocery shopping in the afternoon, and preparing homemade pasta in the evening, so he had been relieved to find Billy fast asleep, breathing normally. He himself had fallen into a dreamless sleep as soon as his head had touched the pillow.

Next thing he remembered was Angela shaking him awake.

* * *

"Tony, wake up! I'm worried about Billy. He's running a very high fever. Maybe we should take him to a doctor," she exclaimed with a slight amount of hysteria in her voice.

Tony jumped out of his bed. A family member in need would pull him out of his sleep in no time no matter how deep it was; and Billy had become a member of their little unique patchwork family during the three months he had been living with them. He rushed into the boy's room, but found his bed empty. With a questioning look on his face he turned around to a breathless Angela, who darted in after he had scooted from his room to Billy's.

"He's in my room," she explained.

"Your room?" Tony asked astonished. Angela's bedroom was her sanctuary, she usually didn't want to have other people in there, let alone any of the children.

"Yes. He came to me around 10 o'clock because he didn't feel well and asked whether he could sleep in my bed."

"Why didn't he come to me?" Tony was slightly disappointed. Billy was his foster son, and the two of them had bonded rather well after Tony had finally stopped calling him Bobby. He usually came to him with his problems or difficulties.

"You grounded him this afternoon, remember? He didn't dare to call on you. He was afraid you would be angry with him for leaving his room; he told me so when I offered to wake you up. He still feels guilty because he ate all the cookies for tomorrow's school picnic. And then I remembered that you were so exhausted at dinner, and my bed is bigger than yours, ..." Angela tried to justify herself for not having called on Tony, but truth be told, Billy had touched her heart by asking to be allowed to sleep in her bed. She missed the snuggling time with Jonathan, who used to crawl into her bed every Sunday morning for some mother-son quality time. Now he was a teenager and evermore embarrassed about his mother; he hadn't come to her for their long-year Sunday morning tradition in ages.

"Good that he's contrite about it, not good that he doesn't know that in an emergency he can come to me any time. I have to talk to him about this."

"Yes you do, but not now. Now you have to decide whether he needs to see a doctor. When he crawled into my bed earlier he was okay. His forehead was warm, yes, but not that hot. Now he's burning up! I'm really worried."

Tony knew that Angela was a bit hysteric when it came to sick children. A sudden high fever wasn't unusual for kids Billy's age; it could go as unpredictably as it had come. He entered Angela's bedroom without realizing that he had never been in there at this time of the night. He was in parenting-mode and had forgotten all his fantasies and daydreams of Angela and him being in her bedroom at night. He spotted Billy in the four-poster bed under the thick duvet with the pink floral covers he himself had put on this morning. The boy looked so tiny in this huge piece of furniture. And he was hot, Angela was right. His cheeks were glaring red, his forehead was damp, and his PJs wet from sweat.

"We'll give him some damp leg compresses and a cold cloth on the forehead and see what happens. If the temperature doesn't fall within the next two hours, we'll take him to a doctor."

"Okay, whatever you say. You're officially in charge for him. I'm just, ... I'm just, ..."

"My unbelievably supportive friend in this," Tony completed Angela's sentence and threw her a grateful look. "I could never do this without your help!"

They worked hand in hand, giving Billy cooling leg compresses, wiping his forehead with a damp washcloth, and changing his pyjamas. Angela gave him some Tylenol to bring down his fever and fetched his beloved stuffed dinosaur from his room. After two hours of working on the child - it was 3 o'clock in the morning by then - the treatment finally kicked in; the fever slowly vanished. Both Tony and Angela were relieved, but also tired and exhausted. Tony sat down on Angela's bed and rubbed his red burning eyes.

"Is it okay if I leave Billy here with you, or do you want me to bring him back to his room?" Tony asked. He badly needed some more hours of sleep to recover from the previous day and to be able to make it through the one following. Tomorrow's agenda was tight, so Tony hoped Angela would take this shift with Billy.

"Leave him here, Tony," she said to his immense relief. "It's a big bed, there's enough room for Billy and me. Jonathan used to sleep here quite often after Michael left us. I'm fine with him sleeping here. He might wake up if you carry him to his room, and we don't want that to happen, do we?"

"Are you sure?" he asked, for she didn't have any obligation to care for Billy after all.

"I am."

"Thank you, Angela. I'm so tired, I need to sleep."

"Yeah, I can see that."

Tony leaned over to check Billy's forehead one last time. He stroked the boy's hair and whispered, "Have a good sleep, Buddy." Just when he turned around to Angela to tell her that she may wake him up should Billy's condition get worse again, the boy clutched his arm and murmured half awake, half asleep, "Stay here, Tony, please. I want to sleep in the middle between you two. Like I used to do with my Mom and Dad."

Tony and Angela exchanged a sympathetic look. Both felt so sorry for the little boy who had lost his parents far too early. They couldn't possibly deny Billy's heart-wrenching wish to lie between them no matter how awkward the situation might be for the both of them. But Tony only stared questioningly at his boss and shrugged. On the one hand, he had more than once wished to spend the night in Angela's bed, but on the other, he was unable to cope with the situation right now.

"The bed is big enough for three people, ... well two and a half," Angela said eventually. Because Tony froze and swallowed, obviously unable to make a step towards her bed, she added, "Come on, it's no big deal. We could all use a few hours of sleep." She looked at him and tried to make it even easier. "Just to please Billy?"

"To please Billy. Alright." That sounded like an adequate reason to Tony, so he finally threw off his misgivings and crawled under the duvet into Angela's bed.

* * *

All of last night's events made it back to Tony's memory the moment Billy kicked in his shin. And now he was still lying in Angela's bed with Billy in the middle. They were like a married couple with their son. Only that Billy wasn't their son, and they weren't married, ... not even a couple.

Tony sighed. As unimaginable as it might have been, he had indeed found some hours of sleep. The last time he had shared a bed with Angela, even if it had only been a bunk in a train to Washington, he had been so aroused just because of the fact that she had been lying next to him. His eyes hadn't closed for a nanosecond. This time they had instantly, as soon as he had pulled the duvet over his tired body. It must have been because of Billy lying between them, keeping him at an appropriate distance. He was as insurmountable as the Berlin Wall; he kept him away from forbidden territory just like the structure had once been built to do. He looked at Angela who was still fast asleep. She had taken the boy into her arm, and Billy was snuggled into her completely, his head on her chest rising and falling in sync with her breathing. It was a very peaceful scene to look at, so full of love and trust. Somebody who didn't know anything about the circumstances which had brought them together, would've taken them for mother and son.

Tony was touched by the motherly way Angela cared for Billy. _He_ had brought him into the family, and although she had agreed, she had no obligation whatsoever to stay up at night or do all the other things she kept on doing for his foster son. Tony was once again amazed by Angela's compassionate and giving soul. He looked at her with a slight smile on his face, and suddenly a thought popped up in his mind like a mushroom after a warm humid day. He had been hit by that thought once already, many years ago, when they had looked after baby Clint for a few days. Their relationship had been at a different stage then, with him living in Angela's house for merely two years. But they had worked well together and had both enjoyed having a baby around. It wasn't until Billy had mixed up their household that this particular thought made it back to the surface. It had hit Tony totally out of the blue when he had come home one day and had found Angela sitting on the living room couch with Billy on her lap, reading him a story. Since then, a picture kept occupying his mind, and it was the one of Angela and him having a baby! He almost forgot to breathe now that he became aware of what this meant, for in order to conceive a child they would have to make love. The thought alone triggered his libido and he felt his groin come to life. Aghast and a bit embarrassed, he tried to think of something which would turn him off again, like the huge pile of laundry he had left in front of the washing machine yesterday. It worked, if only slowly though.

After a few moments of meditating about dirty clothes, his hormones were back under control, and he could let his thoughts run free about what else it meant if Angela and he had a baby. It meant that they would go through her pregnancy together, something he pictured as a wonderful adventure he'd love to share with her more than anything. He'd be able to watch the baby grow inside her womb, the child they made in an act of love. He'd be there to see her belly get bigger and bigger, until he'd be able to feel from the outside their baby moving on the inside. He'd be caring for his pregnant wife - they would be married then, for sure - spoiling her, fulfilling her every wish. He'd be cooking the weirdest meals for her, if she asked for them. He'd be taking her to every check-up, looking at their baby on the ultrasound monitor. He'd be massaging her back or feet, if the increasing weight she was carrying around was giving her discomfort. He'd be attending prenatal classes with her, and most of all, he'd be at her side when she gave birth. Angela had once told Tony that Michael hadn't been there when she had delivered Jonathan. That jerk of a husband had been somewhere in the jungle, leaving his wife alone and missing his son's birth. He would move heaven and hell to be there when his baby was born. He would coach Angela, motivate her, cheer her on, and let her scream at him and squash his hand when the pain threatened to overwhelm her.

Tony had done all this for Marie when she had been pregnant with Sam, and it had been one of the most wonderful times of his life. It had brought him so much closer to his wife. He had been amazed by what the female body was able to endure. When he had cut the umbilical cord, thus physically separating his daughter from her mother's body, he had felt the very miracle of creation. He had instantly fallen in love with his baby girl, not knowing that he would be a single parent one day. When the nurse had helped Marie to latch Sam on her breast for nursing, Tony had begun to look at his wife in a different light. Until then, she had primarily been an object of his desire; he had admired her beauty, her flawless body, and her feminine charms. But since Marie had given birth, he had also seen the nurturing, giving, selfless mother in her, and it had made him love her even more.

Watching Angela holding on to little Billy and sharing her bed with him lifted all these long-forgotten memories out of their hiding place. Tony hadn't realized just how badly he longed for another child. Maybe that was the reason for why he had been so eager to take the responsibility to care for Billy until his grandmother's recovery from a serious illness. And Angela was the first woman since Marie who brought this profound and secret wish of his back to light. The way she opened her heart to people and let them into her life once she trusted them, was unparalleled. He had never met a woman so giving and loving with people she wasn't even related to. He had been able to enjoy that trait of hers himself, when Angela had opened first her house to Sam and him, and later on her heart.

"Morning. Did you get some sleep?" Angela's whispering caught Tony off guard.

"What? Well, ... uhm, ... yes!" he exclaimed a bit too loudly.

"Shhhh," she put an index finger to her lips, "don't wake him up!" she admonished him.

"Sorry. I was in thought."

"About what?"

"Uhm, ... nothing in particular. This and that." Tony couldn't possibly tell her anything about what he had been thinking. Or maybe he should. But wouldn't he be overstepping a boundary in doing so? Then again, Angela also had feelings for him. She had told - and shown - him so in Washington. Was he really considering a love affair with his boss? A love affair? Whom was he kidding? He had just been thinking about marrying her and having a baby! And she wasn't his boss anymore. Well, technically speaking she was, but emotionally they were best friends. They were so close as is if they were already married. Sometimes he even forgot that they weren't. Once, while waiting for Angela in a restaurant, he had even told the waiter, that his _wife_ would be there any minute. He hadn't even realized his Freudian slip until the same waiter had asked him later, 'Have you and your wife made a choice already, Sir?' He had been so embarrassed, but Angela had kept her eyes on the menu and had only smiled.

He must have been staring at Angela during his inner battle about whether or not to confide in her, because she looked at him bewildered, her eyebrows raised, and finally asked him, "This and that? If your eyes don't lie, it has to be a bit more serious."

"I'm just worried about Billy," Tony tried to talk his way out.

"Oh, I think he's fine. You were right with the leg compresses, it really worked. His forehead doesn't feel warm anymore, and he slept peacefully throughout the rest of the night." Angela stroked Billy's hair lovingly with one hand, with the other she pressed him a bit closer to her chest. "He looks like an angel in his sleep, doesn't he? No one would believe that he's a reckless cookie thief." She grinned at Tony, a bit mockingly.

"You think I overreacted with grounding him," Tony stated.

"Maybe a little." She pursed her lips to prevent her grin to spread on her entire face.

"Just because you can be a reckless cookie thief yourself at times doesn't mean you have to come to his defence."

"Oh, come on, Tony! Your cookies are just too delicious. You can't leave them on the kitchen counter unattended and expect us to stay away from them."

Tony loved it when she praised his cooking and baking skills, so he gave in. "Well, Counsellor, case dismissed then I guess. It's all my fault," he joked, and Angela gifted him a smile so open-hearted and affectionate, it made his heart melt away. They were such a good team in raising kids, complementing each other. If he overreacted, she held him back. If she was too worried, he calmed her. It had worked perfectly with Samantha and Jonathan. They were doing well with Billy, and they would also do a terrific job with a child of their own, if they had one.

"Did I ever thank you?" Tony asked out of the blue.

"What for?"

"Everything."

"Can you be a bit more specific than that?" He made her curious, and she wondered why he was in such a weird mood.

"For helping me raise Sam. For supporting me with Billy," he explained, leaving aside a hundred other things he was grateful for.

"You don't have to thank me for that," Angela assured him, "I love them both, and it's a joy to spend time with them. I thought you knew."

"I do know. I only want _you_ to know that I don't take anything you do for granted." He looked deeply into her eyes.

"Oh, in that case, ... thanks for telling me."

After a short awkward silence, Tony popped another question. "How do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Open your heart to everybody."

"Well, I don't open it to _every_body! Only to very special people. People who deserve it, my heart, I mean."

"Like Michael?" He was walking on thin ice now, he knew, challenging her so openly. But Angela wasn't in the mood for playing games. This was all too serious. Her feelings for Tony were very sincere, and she was tired of beating about the bush.

"No, I was rather thinking of, ..." she hesitated for a moment, then decided to go for it, "of you, to be honest. Although I don't consider my years with Michael to be lost years. Without him I wouldn't have Jonathan, and being a mother is one of the best things in life. Well, so is being a father, I guess. At least for some people."

"It is," Tony nodded vehemently, "it sure is!" If this wasn't the perfect cue for him to confide in her about his earlier thoughts, he didn't know what was. He had just taken a deep breath to tell her what had gone through his mind about marriage and parenthood, when Billy suddenly started moving. He kicked Tony in the shin again and snuggled even closer into Angela, if that was possible. "Mommy?" he murmured in his sleep, which made both Tony's as well as Angela's heart skip a beat.

"Oh my God," Angela whispered, "did you hear that, Tony?"

"I heard, Angela. He misses his mom, which doesn't surprise me in this situation actually. Every sick boy needs his mommy, and I guess snuggling into you reminded him of his mom."

Angela's eyes were filling with tears. "Poor boy." She kissed his hair and caressed his cheek.

"Mommy!" Billy's voice sounded cheerful now, as if he believed himself to be in his mother's arms. It eventually broke Angela's heart.

"Shhh, Billy, it's me, Angela. And Tony's also here, Sweetheart."

Billy slowly opened his eyes. His vision was still blurred, he was confused, and it took him a moment until he realized his mother wasn't there. It could be read from his face; his sadness and disappointment were so obvious that Angela couldn't hold back her tears anymore.

"I dreamt about my mom," Billy told them, "She waved to me and blew me a kiss."

"I'm sure your mom keeps an eye on you from above, Billy. She's with you through your dreams," Angela said, wiping a tear from her cheek.

"I miss her."

"I know," Angela said, pressing Billy close to her bosom and stroking his hair. Billy let it happen, although he normally wasn't very keen on being overly emotional. But today he needed it, he was a little boy after all. He exchanged a look with Tony, who nodded and showed him that it was even alright to cry, so he let his tears run free. Tony and Angela were glad in a way, for they knew that crying was necessary once in a while to cope with the pain of losing someone you love. They both had also lost a parent in their childhood and could sympathise with their ward. Angela just rocked him and Tony squeezed his arm until Billy had calmed himself and the tears had finally subsided.

"Thank you for letting me sleep in your bed, Angela."

"Any time, Sweetheart." She looked at him. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yes, but I have to go to the bathroom."

"You can use my bathroom, if you want to."

"No, there's too much pink in there, Angela. Boys don't pee in pink bathrooms." Billy had regained his composure and felt strong again, strong as a man, ... even if only as a little man.

"Well, if that's the case, then you have to make it all the way across the hallway, I'm afraid," Angela answered with a grin.

Billy turned to Tony and asked, "Can I go to my room afterwards, Tony? I want to listen to one of my cassettes."

"Sure. You'll stay home with me today anyway, no school for you. I'll prepare my grandmother's chicken soup for you. It will give you a boost. And tomorrow, you'll be as good as new."

"Thanks Tony." Billy gave him a hug and turned around to leave the room. In the door frame he suddenly stood still, turned around once again and walked over to Angela, who was sitting at the end of her bed. "Thank you, Angela." He hugged her. "Sleeping in your bed was just like with my mom."

Angela could only smile, she wasn't able to reply anything, for her emotions were getting the better of her and her voice failed her. Only when the boy had left the room, was she able to speak again; even if only rudimentarily. "Oh, Tony," was all she could utter. As she didn't add anything to that, Tony prompted, "Yeeees?"

"He said it was like with his mom. I can't believe it," Angela croaked, deeply stirred.

"Well, I can," Tony said laconically. "You're a great mom. Why shouldn't Billy say that?"

"You really think I'm a good mother?" The doubt in her voice was unmistakable.

"Sure! Why do you think I trust you so much with Samantha? Sam couldn't have wished for a better mother after Marie had passed away, ... and neither could I," Tony added, locking eyes with her.

"You see me as Sam's surrogate mother?" Angela hold her breath.

"Not surrogate, Angela. I hate the word. You're not her biological mother, okay, but neither am I Jonathan's biological father. And still, we're a family with everybody loving each other."

"Everybody? Loving each other?" she repeated.

"Well, ... yes!"

Tony knew exactly what Angela wished to hear from him; an open confession that he loved her. She had told him about her feelings only lately on their trip to Washington. 'I like you,' she had said, and had underlined her words with the most tender kiss. His problem was that he was not yet ready to be in a relationship with her as long he was still officially her housekeeper. He needed to graduate first, find a decent job and become financially independent. But then again, wasn't that exactly the conservative, old-fashioned way of thinking he had once told her he didn't live by? Hadn't he told her on the fire escalator in Brooklyn that they were other options apart from the traditional Italian family with the mother staying home with the kids and the father going out earning the bread? Hadn't he just thought about wanting to marry her and having more children? If he waited until the moment seemed right for him, it might be too late to have children. They were both at the threshold to their forties, conceiving a child couldn't be taken for granted any more at that age. And besides, who told him that Angela would wait for him until the end of time? She was a desirable, beautiful, and successful woman. There had to be other men out in this world aware of that fact, and wanting her. Maybe he only had to fight his inner demons and take a step towards her? Maybe he simply had to swallow his male pride? She had told him that she didn't mind him being a housekeeper and student, maybe he shouldn't either?

Before he was able to make a final decision, his musings were again interrupted by Angela. "_Mommy_ ... I don't know when Jonathan last called me 'Mommy'." She sighed heavily. "I enjoyed the time when Jonathan was little. He was such a cute boy, with his thick blond hair and his big blue eyes," she raved. "And he was so affectionate, loved cuddling. I miss that."

'Come on, she's giving you the perfect cue again!' a voice screamed in Tony's head.

"Uhm, Angela, ... did you ever think of, ... I mean, ... are you planning on, ... no, ... I wanted to say, ... !" Darn, why did he only have to be so awkward in such a delicate situation?

"Tony? You're really strange this morning. Are you sure you had enough sleep last night?"

'Too much, actually. I would've preferred doing some naughty stuff with you,' went through his mind so loudly that he wasn't sure whether he had only thought the words or had spoken them out. He was in shock and only stared at Angela.

"What _is_ the matter with you?" Angela looked at the man sitting on the other end of her bed. She was confused and even started to worry. "What are you trying to tell me?"

Tony bit his lower lip, focussed his attention to the one and only question he wanted to ask her, closed his eyes and spit it out as if it was an ugly toad. "I was going to ask you whether you wanted to have more children." He finally let out the breath he had been holding. And that was the only sound that could be heard, for Angela was so flabbergasted about his inquiry that she herself was holding her breath now. Finally, she stammered, "How come you're asking me this?"

"You were so helpful with Billy tonight, and you said you missed having a toddler around. In a few months, maybe even only weeks, we have to give Billy back to his grandmother and the house will be empty again, with Sam staying at the dorm and Jonathan being almost grown. So I was wondering whether you wanted another child of your own."

"Well, ... yes, I would love to. If I only knew how." Tony remembered that she had given him the exact same answer all those years ago, when he had asked her while taking care of baby Clint. What did she mean with that answer? He hadn't really understood then, and he wasn't quite sure now either.

"Do you want me to show- uhm! ... I mean _tell_ you? Tell, of course, not show!" What had gotten into him? _Show_ her? 'Micelli, are you nuts?' he admonished himself.

"Tooony, I know how babies are made. You neither have to show, nor tell me!" She looked at him amused. She could see little drops of sweat forming on his forehead. She knew how uncomfortable Tony was talking about topics such as this, but he was the one who started the conversation, and now he had to pull through all the way. "I meant without a husband at my side, of course."

"Of course! I'm sorry! It sounded different than what I wanted to say actually," he excused himself. Wow, it was so unbelievably hot in this bedroom! He fanned himself.

"What did you want to say then?" Her eyes beseeched him now. As if she knew what was going on in his mind, but needed to hear from him. So Tony mustered all his courage, and decided to open his soul and lay his heart at her feet.

But it wasn't so easy after all.

"I, ..."

"Youuu, ..."

One more inhale. Did it feel any worse to go to the hangman?

"I just thought you and me would be a good team with a child of our own."

Angela froze, but she understood what Tony was trying to tell her. It was always amazing how incompetent men were when it came to expressing emotions. She mentally shook her head, but couldn't keep a slight smile appearing on her face. If that was meant as a confession of his love - and she was sure it was - then it was one of the most unromantic ones she had ever heard. So she decided to let him dangle a bit longer for all he had put her through during the last years, keeping her at arm's length until he and his masculinity were finally ready for more than just a platonic relationship.

"What do mean by saying _a child of our own_? That we should become official foster parents together? I'm not sure it's possible for an unmarried couple. And we're not even a couple." Now that hint couldn't be any broader.

"No, not foster parents. I mean real parents."

"Oooh, now I get it! And you weren't sure whether I knew how to make a baby. So is this why you wanted to tell me, or rather _show_ me!"

"Aaaangela! Are you getting me wrong on purpose? I know, my asking was a bit clumsy, but you know what I've been trying to ask you, don't you?"

"I'm not sure," she teased, "You can't deny that it can only be read between the lines, ..."

"Then I'm going to say it again, in no uncertain manner this time!" Tony took a deep breath, straightened his back, and lifted his chin. "So, here it comes. Are you listening?"

"I am."

"Okay, ... Angela Bower, ... I love you! I don't care that I'm still a student and you're a business owner. I don't care that you're my boss, and I receive a paycheck from you every week. I don't care that we once made that pact of holding on to what he have instead of starting something new. All I care about is you!" He wiped his forehead. Now that the first words were out, telling her everything wasn't that difficult any more. The words just kept on jumping out of his mouth. "I'm sick of lying in a bed with you, not being allowed to touch you. I'm sick of dancing around you, not telling you how I really feel. I'm simply sick of waiting! I want to kiss you, make love to you, marry you, and I want us to have a wonderful Micelli baby." He waited a moment to check for a sign whether Angela had understood this time before he concluded, "Have I made myself clear now?"

"Perfectly clear," Angela managed to say. Tony's words had an effect on her - of course. They overwhelmed her. Her pulse accelerated to an unknown high, the lump in her throat was the size of a coconut, her hands were trembling, and if she hadn't been already sitting on her bed, she would've needed to do so instantly because of her legs turning to jelly. Although his proposal wasn't exactly overly romantic and emotional, it couldn't have been any more open and honest. The day she had longed for had finally come; the man she had desired for many years had overcome his misgivings and had declared his love for her.

"Now that I told you, mind if I also showed you?" Tony asked.

"I've always liked that game," Angela replied with a grin.

* * *

Little Daniel Micelli, or Daniele - what he was called by the Italian part of his family -, was born only nine months later. He had his father's dark hair and warm brown eyes, and his mother's light complexion and fine facial features. He was the apple of his parents' eye and completed their unique, yet very happy family.


End file.
